Luton airport now hoping not only for 18 million annual passengers, but up to 38 million

Date added: January 9, 2018

Luton airport is planning to increase its annual number of passengers to 18 million, from around 15 million at present. Work is under way to achieve this, with new buildings, new taxiways etc. However, the airport is now saying it plans to take advantage of an apparent shortage of runway capacity in the south east, in the coming decade, to try to grow to 36 – 38 million annual passengers. This has come as a surprise to many. Only two weeks earlier an airport senior manager was asked what happens when Luton reaches 18mppa, and he said they would flat-line as the terminal could not cope with any more people. The Chairman of LLACC (the Consultative Committee) did not about it either. Also, LLAL (the arm of Luton BC that owns the airport) recently purchased a huge tract of land nearby (Wigmore Park) and said it would not be used to expand the airport but to diversify business-land investment. However it appears that the airport may be planning a new terminal on the land, as the only way to achieve new growth aspirations. Hertfordshire County Council are doubtful about the expansion, raising many possible negative impacts for the area, including surface access traffic.

Opposition to Luton Airport expansion from Herts County Council

By STEWART CARR (Luton Today)

12 December 2017

Hertfordshire County Council has registered its opposition to neighbouring Luton’s plan to expand its airport.

The authority said it was reacting with concern to yesterday’s publication by London Luton Airport Limited of its ambition to double the number of passengers using the airport to potentially 36-38 million passengers a year, compared 16 million now.

David Williams, leader of Herts County Council, said: “I can imagine how news of this proposal will be received in the communities in Hertfordshire whose lives are already blighted by aircraft noise created by the airport, even with the current passenger numbers.

“My main concern at this stage, therefore, is the impact this news will impact will have on those communities.

“My other immediate concern is the transport implications. How can that level of growth possibly be achieved without compromising the capacity of our road and rail systems and how can it be done in a way which shifts journeys to the airport away from the car and towards public transport?

“I do fully recognise and appreciate the potential economic benefits that would come with growth of the airport. But the key now must be for the airport to work with stakeholders to develop a masterplan which strikes an appropriate balance between growth and environmental impact, in a way which safeguards communities and comes with the right supporting infrastructure.

“Only by doing that will it be possible to ascertain whether an appropriate balance can be achieved. Addressing noise issues is probably the biggest challenge facing that process and this needs to be tackled head-on, right from the start.

“I would encourage all stakeholders and communities to engage with the forthcoming masterplanning consultation process next year.”

Cllr Williams added that he was concerned about the potential “constraints” of Hertfordshire’s growth caused by the airport expansion – particularly the impact upon transport and infrastructure.

He stated: “We also need to look at the bigger picture here. The growth agenda in this part of the country is huge. The Luton, Dunstable and Houghton Regis conurbation has major growth plans and here in Hertfordshire we have incredibly ambitious growth of our own.

“The conurbation and the airport are also within the Government supported Cambridge-Milton Keynes-Oxford growth corridor where nationally significant economic, housing and infrastructure growth is proposed.

“The future of the airport must be seen within the context of not only the potential opportunities, but also the constraints that may come with this.”

In response, a Luton Council spokesman said: “Luton Council and its airport company London Luton Airport Ltd are committed to the London Luton Airport Vision for Sustainable Growth 2020-2050 as a fantastic opportunity to contribute to the forecast shortfall in national aviation capacity and to generate economic growth, jobs, prosperity and aspiration across the sub-region.

“We absolutely understand that airport operations can bring adverse impacts. LLAL will work tirelessly to minimise and mitigate these as the proposal is developed, and has already begun developing its plans for improvement within a new long-term environmental strategy for the airport.

“It is further committed to a full, robust and thorough approach to engagement with all our partners and communities. We anticipate that a clearer understanding of the scope of the project should emerge by spring/summer 2018, and look forward to beginning the initial round of informal public consultation in mid-2018.”

Bucks CC has not responded publicly, but a couple of Councillors have commented in private emails, and the council officer in charge has stated that such plans would be determined nationally, not locally, because the capacity increase will breach the 10mppa red line. A local member of St Albans Quieter Skies (STAQS) said STAQS knew nothing about the higher expansion figure, and that Luton had obviously kept their plans very quiet.

‘Ambitious’ plans to grow Luton Airport over 30 years London Luton Airport Published

11 December 2017 (Luton Today)

An “ambitious” vision to grow London Luton Airport over 30 years has been revealed by owner London Luton Airport Ltd (LLAL) as part of Luton Council’s £1.5bn investment programme.

Luton Council is LLAL’s sole shareholder and airport growth is crucial to the authority’s 20-year ‘Luton Investment Framework’ – a plan which hopes to attact £1.5bn in investment to Luton and create 18,500 new jobs along with other opportunities for residents.

Cllr Andy Malcolm, chair of LLAL and Luton Council’s portfolio holder for finance, said: “London Luton Airport is a huge success story. On the back of 44 consecutive months of passenger growth, it is the fifth largest and fastest growing major airport in the UK, sustaining an estimated 33,000 jobs across the region, and contributing more than £1.5bn per year into the UK economy.

“The airport’s growth has been so fast in fact that at its current rate it is due to reach the current permitted capacity of 18 mppa in 2021.”

For each additional one million passengers travelling through London Luton Airport every year, there is an increase of up to 800 new jobs and a £76m uplift for the regional economy, estimates from Oxford Economics suggest.

Nationally, demand for flying is showing a projected shortfall of 60 million passengers per year in UK airports by 2050.

Cllr Malcolm added: “There is now a vital need to plan for London Luton Airport’s long-term future, to ensure the regional economy can enjoy the benefits of this through inclusive growth and to help meet demand for UK aviation.

“At the same time, we are acutely aware of the consequences of having an international airport on the doorstep. Our commitment is to bring forward not only a more modern and efficient but also an environmentally and socially responsible London Luton Airport.”

LLAL has begun to develop its plans with some environmental policies in place, new best-in-class air quality monitoring has been commissioned. However, LLAL acknowledged that more work is needed to tackle the negative impacts on climate change and the environment associated with airport expansion.

The company stated: “Ahead of any future expansion work, we will develop a comprehensive strategy to reduce where possible carbon emissions associated with additional construction and operation of LTN.”

Construction is due to start next year on the £225m passenger transfer service Luton DART (Direct Air to Rail Transit) which promises to slash journey times from Luton Airport Parkway to the terminal to three minutes.

Under the London Luton Airport (LTN) Vision for Sustainable Growth 2020-2050, passenger capacity would go from 18 million to 36-38 mppa, and the airport would accommodate 240,000 annual air traffic movements.

Growth at the airport would be achieved by making the best use possible of LTN’s existing, single runway. Through LLAL, London Luton Airport generates significant direct income for Luton Council, contributing £25.6m for vital services and infrastructure investment in 2016/17. In addition, more than £120m has been provided since 2004 to local charities, community and voluntary organisations in Luton and communities affected by airport operations.

Leader of Luton Council Cllr Hazel Simmons added: “The past few years have been financially challenging for many people. To meet some of these challenges we have been working hard to bring more money and opportunities into the town to improve people’s lives. “LLAL is working with us as a key partner in delivering the Luton Investment Framework, and it is clear that the airport cannot stand still if it is to pull its weight for Luton and for the UK and sub-regional economies.”

There is now a lot of work to do as LLAL’s technical team considers the airport’s medium to long-term capacity within its particular constraints, and the immediate result will be a draft masterplan for how this can be achieved.

LLAL is committed to a full, robust and thorough approach to engagement with residents and communities, and will begin consulting on the masterplan in mid-2018. The likely outcome is that LLAL will need to submit an application for a Development Consent Order to the national Planning Inspectorate, as it would be considered a Nationally Significant Infrastructure Project.

Cllr Malcolm said: “Our vision is to make best use of the existing runway to provide the maximum benefit to the local and sub-regional economy, deliver good levels of service to all the airport’s customers and to actively manage environmental impacts at the local and wider levels in line with our commitment to responsible and sustainable development.

“To be clear, we will not be proposing either a second or an extended runway. “We will invest all necessary time and resource to carefully consider all the infrastructure, access and environmental protection issues with neighbouring authorities, regulators and the wider community.

“We will work tirelessly to keep everyone informed of developments and proposals as soon as they emerge, and make sure everyone has an opportunity to feed into the process and provide comments which will be very carefully considered at every step on this important journey.”

The London Luton Airport Vision for Sustainable Growth 2020-2050 is available to view online at www.llal.org.uk LLAL’s aim is to secure consent within four years, and will have more details available next year. In the meantime, comments or questions can be sent to vision2050@llal.org.uk.

Conservative Bim Afolami, MP for Hitchin and Harpenden, has said the proposed expansion of Luton Airport is both “unsuitable” and “unsustainable”, and its growth would be “Bedfordshire’s gain – Hertfordshire’s pain” in terms of noise and pollution. The airport, owned by Luton Borough Council, published its ambitious growth plan – to expand not only to 18 million annual passengers, but to 36 – 38 million – in December. It hopes to reach the 38 million by 2050 with 240,000 flights a year, using its one existing runway. The local geography is such that adding a second runway would be virtually impossible – slopes. Mr Afolami told a Westminster Hall debate on Tuesday that he “was not against airports” and “recognised the jobs and economic growth the airport brings to the UK and to Luton” ….but “The proposed expansion to more than double Luton’s passenger numbers is both unsuitable to the local area and unsustainable in the context of the constraints that exist in rural Hertfordshire. Luton is just not the right place for an airport of the proposed size of 38m passengers. However, Transport Minister Paul Maynard said that the airport was already “actively engaged” in local consultation.

London Luton Airport’s vision for sustainable growth is off the ground

10.12.2017 (Luton Airport press release)

An ambitious vision for sustainable growth at London Luton Airport over 30 years has today been revealed by owner London Luton Airport Ltd (LLAL) as part of Luton Council’s £1.5bn inward investment programme.

Luton Council is LLAL’s sole shareholder, and the vision for growth is the latest key development in the authority’s ambitious 20-year Luton Investment Framework to create 18,500 new jobs and achieve increased prosperity, health, wellbeing and opportunity for residents.

The proposal is LLAL’s response to the Government’s recent call for evidence, seeking growth in the aviation sector, and for all UK airports to make best use of their existing runways.

Nationally, demand for aviation is showing a projected shortfall in UK airport capacity of 60 million passengers per annum (mppa) by 2050.

Cllr Andy Malcolm, chair of LLAL and Luton Council’s Portfolio Holder for finance, said: “London Luton Airport is a huge success story. On the back of 44 consecutive months of passenger growth, it is the fifth largest and fastest growing major airport in the UK, sustaining an estimated 33,000 jobs across the region, and contributing more than £1.5bn per year into the UK economy.

“The airport’s growth has been so fast in fact that at its current rate it is due to reach the current permitted capacity of 18 mppa in 2021.”

For each additional one million passengers travelling through London Luton Airport every year, there is an increase of up to 800 new jobs and a £76m uplift for the regional economy, estimates from Oxford Economics suggest. [Their forecasts are well known for exaggerating numbers of jobs, double counting etc. Treat their figures with caution … AW comment].

Cllr Malcolm continued: “There is now a vital need to plan for London Luton Airport’s long-term future, to ensure the regional economy can enjoy the benefits of this through inclusive growth, and to help meet demand for UK aviation.

“At the same time, we are acutely aware of the consequences of having an international airport on the doorstep. Our commitment is to bring forward not only a more modern and efficient but also an environmentally and socially responsible London Luton Airport.” LLAL has begun to develop its plans for improvement within a new long-term environmental strategy for the airport. New best-in-class air quality monitoring, which will measure a wider range of potential pollutants than any other major airport in the UK, has already been commissioned.

Construction is due to start next year on the £225m passenger transfer service Luton DART (Direct Air to Rail Transit) which promises to revolutionise public transport to the airport and slash journey times from Luton Airport Parkway to the terminal to three minutes.

Under the London Luton Airport (LTN) Vision for Sustainable Growth 2020-2050, passenger capacity would go from 18 million to 36-38 mppa, and the airport would accommodate 240,000 annual air traffic movements. Growth at the airport would be achieved by making the best use possible of LTN’s existing, single runway. Through LLAL, London Luton Airport generates significant direct income for Luton Council, contributing £25.6m for vital services and infrastructure investment in 2016/17.

In addition, more than £120m has been provided since 2004 to local charities, community and voluntary organisations in Luton and communities affected by airport operations.

Leader of Luton Council Cllr Hazel Simmons said: “The past few years have been financially challenging for many people. To meet some of these challenges we have been working hard to bring more money and opportunities into the town to improve people’s lives. “LLAL is working with us as a key partner in delivering the Luton Investment Framework, and it is clear that the airport cannot stand still if it is to pull its weight for Luton and for the UK and sub-regional economies.”

There is now a lot of work to do as LLAL’s technical team considers the airport’s medium to long-term capacity within its particular constraints, and the immediate result will be a draft masterplan for how this can be achieved.

LLAL is committed to a full, robust and thorough approach to engagement with residents and communities, and will begin consulting on the masterplan in mid-2018.

The likely outcome is that LLAL will need to submit an application for a Development Consent Order to the national Planning Inspectorate, as it would be considered a Nationally Significant Infrastructure Project.

Cllr Malcolm said: “Our vision is to make best use of the existing runway to provide the maximum benefit to the local and sub-regional economy, deliver good levels of service to all the airport’s customers and to actively manage environmental impacts at the local and wider levels in line with our commitment to responsible and sustainable development.

“To be clear, we will not be proposing either a second or an extended runway. “We will invest all necessary time and resource to carefully consider all the infrastructure, access and environmental protection issues with neighbouring authorities, regulators and the wider community.

“We will work tirelessly to keep everyone informed of developments and proposals as soon as they emerge, and make sure everyone has an opportunity to feed into the process and provide comments which will be very carefully considered at every step on this important journey.”

Local campaign group St Albans Quieter Skies (STAQS) is anticipating another summer of increased airplane noise as Luton Airport continues its rapid expansion.

Representing residents of Sandridge, Jersey Farm, Marshalswick and North St Albans, the group has held a number of meetings over the last couple of months, to investigate why the area has suddenly become so badly affected by the blight of plane noise, and explore options that might provide some relief in the future.

Last year, 14.5 million passengers travelled through Luton Airport, making 2016 the busiest year ever in the airport’s history. December saw a 24.6 per cent rise in passenger numbers compared with the same month in 2015.

As the prevailing wind is westerly, the majority of those passengers on this route fly over Sandridge and neighbouring areas. In the third quarter of 2016 there were over 8,000 flights from Luton airport that flew over Sandridge and North St Albans.

This growth in passengers will continue this year, as the airport increases its annual passenger numbers to 18 million.

Worryingly, the greatest proposed increase in flights for 2017 are for between 6am and 7am.

In addition, the recent narrowing of the departure route has concentrated flights over the area.

As part of its campaign, STAQS has successfully applied to become members of the London Luton Airport Consultative Committee (LLACC), along with other campaign groups such as LADACAN.

Chair of STAQS, Sharon Hollingsworth, said: “Membership of the committee gives us another forum in which to feedback the views of local residents to the airport authorities, and also to be kept informed of activities at the airport which might affect us in the future.”

Also at the LLACC meeting, it was announced that representatives from the airport would be meeting with others from Heathrow, Stansted and RAF Northolt to investigate what changes could be made to flight paths that would allow flights departing Luton to climb higher before they reach St Albans.

This will go some way towards reducing noise levels, but will not be put in place this year.

In the meantime, STAQS will continue to press the airport authorities to work with air traffic control service provider, NATS, to have planes flying higher as soon as possible, to reduce noise in this district.

Members of the public annoyed by noise from Luton Airport are invited to join STAQS.

Rise in complaints in St Albans district about Luton plane noise – residents are angry

February 15, 2017

Three campaign groups, representing St Albans, Harpenden and wider-Hertfordshire have banded together to call upon local politicians to do more on the problem of increasing aircraft noise, than merely call for a review or consultation on the problem. Campaigners from the alliance of HarpendenSky, Save our Skies (SoS) and Herts-based LADACAN say St Albans is at risk of ‘turning into Heathrow’ unless the rise in noise pollution is stopped. Luton had more passengers than ever in 2016, at about 14.5 million. But there was also a 150% increase in complaints about noise. Residents in Hertfordshire want Bedfordshire, which owns the airport, to suffer more of its noise. Luton airport is owned by Luton council, and people in Hertfordshire say as Bedfordshire gets the profit, they should take more of the pain. Planes are getting bigger, heavier and noisier, and are flying even earlier in the morning and later at night. There is more noise affecting Flamstead, Redbourn, Harpenden, St Albans, and on to Sandridge and Stevenage. People overflown by increasingly narrow flight paths want politicians to do something and challenge the airport. However, politicians are always nervous of saying anything that might do perceived damage to economic growth, such as demand a ban on night flights.

Luton Airport plans further growth to 25 million passengers (not just 18 million) within 10 years

August 6, 2017

Luton Airport is planning to expand to 25 million passengers, in a move campaign groups are arguing could increase noise pollution above Hertfordshire. Luton is planning significant expansion, while NATS says the skies over south east England are overcrowded and close to saturation. Neil McArthur of local group, Harpenden Sky, submitted a Freedom of Information Request which revealed that the LLAL planning strategy is for steady growth to 25 million passengers within 10 years. This represents nearly a 40% increase over the current planning limit of 18 million passengers, which was agreed by Luton borough council. Residents who live under flight paths in St Albans, Harpenden and elsewhere in Hertfordshire have made multiple complaints to the airport about plane noise, due to a new routing system which has narrowed the flight paths and concentrated the noise over a smaller area. Over the past year, noise complaints have increased from 191 in the first quarter of 2016, to 1,849 in the first quarter of 2017. Neil said the airport is not being properly managed, and changes are being rushed through too fast. Andrew Lambourne, from campaign group LADACAN (Luton and District Association for the Control of Aircraft Noise) said the airport’s focus is entirely on growth for airlines, giving no mention of making the :airport a better neighbour to local communities.